ViewSonic V3D231 3D Monitor Review

Active stereoscopic displays come with two significant downsides: their price and reliance on bulky battery-operated glasses. This combination along with high pricing is enough to dissuade many consumers from dipping their toes into the 3D market. But what if you could enjoy the same three dimensional experience without heavy glasses that might run out of juice at the worst possible moment? And if this solution were more affordable, would it tempt you even more? These are the questions ViewSonic is seeking to answer with their V3D231.

The V3D231 is not based on active 3D technology but instead relies on a passive-style setup. This means it has been designed with dual polarizing fields that require only simple slip-on (or clip-on) “sun glasses” with special polarization filters. Furthermore, the monitor—in combination with your CPU—does all of the heavy lifting, so 3D gaming doesn’t require an especially powerful GPU to render additional frames. Since this monitor also ships with the required 3D software suite, the V3D231 can be considered an-all-in-one solution similar to the Asus VG278H we recently reviewed. However, its driver “wrapper” is vendor agnostic so it doesn’t require a certain type of graphics card to be used.

These advantages, along with the V3D231’s relatively modest $350 MSRP, could potentially make this monitor a serious contender for budget-conscious consumers, or gamers who have had bad experiences with active 3D displays. It might also appeal to users of AMD or Intel graphics, who do not have ready access to NVIDIA’s 3D Vision technology. However, as we shall see, passive 3D is as fraught with as many potential pitfalls as active 3D. Has Viewsonic been able to successfully navigate them and produce a display with wide appeal?